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The NBA couldn’t have asked for a better game to open the 2020 playoffs with the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz in overtime to decide a winner in this first-round game. Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray traded shots back and forth, but ultimately Murray’s play in overtime led the Nuggets to a 135-125 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Mitchell finished the game with 57 points, becoming the youngest player since Michael Jordan to accumulate more than 50 points in a playoff game. It appeared that the Jazz were in control for the majority of the second half, and seemed to be able to put the win aside. However, an All-Star effort from Murray forced overtime, and his game – along with a merger for Utah in OT – became the deciding factor. Murray scored 10 of his 36 OT points to secure the victory in Denver, and finished the game just before a double-double with nine assists.
Murray and Nikola Jokic’s 1-2 punch turned out to be too much for Utah, as the soft-shot 7-footer showed his offensive versatility in the first half of the game and finished the contest with 29 points and 10 tables. A 3-point wide open by Jokic with two minutes left in overtime extended Denver’s lead to nine, which essentially froze the game for the Nuggets. Here are three takeaways from Denver’s thrilling victory over the Jazz.
1. Jamal Murray’s end-of-game explosion
Heading into the playoffs, Murray has only played in four of Denver’s eight league tables due to left hamstring strain, and despite showing strong performances towards the end of the league table, he didn. It wasn’t clear whether Murray’s conditioning would live up to playoff standards. Murray himself has even said he was “gassed” after his first classification game, so it was not known if he would be ready to play 100% from the start in this game.
Well, those worries quickly dissipated in the second quarter of the game, when Murray threw his own 12-0 run, then repeatedly yelled at his teammates “they don’t want this!” after Utah called a timeout. The fourth-year goaltender then took his game even further down the home stretch, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter and in combined overtime. Head coach Mike Malone said after the game that Murray “associated fire with fire”, with Mitchell, who was exhausting shot after shot to keep the Jazz in the game.
With Gary Harris and Will Barton still sidelined for Denver, Murray was going to have to take his game to another level on offense, and he answered ten times. It wasn’t just that Murray was racking up points left and right; the degree of difficulty of his buckets increased each time the balloon left his hands. He went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and regularly exposed Joe Ingles on defense with his speed going to the basket. Murray played a huge role for Denver, he will now have to continue at this level of play for the duration of this series.
2. Utah collapse in overtime
The Jazz really looked like they were getting away with a win in this game. They were up four with just under two minutes left, thanks to Mitchell’s absurd offensive performance. However, they just couldn’t answer Murray’s score to close the fourth quarter. Still, Mitchell was making his best impression of Dwyane Wade throughout the second half, and just based solely on his play in the fourth quarter, he felt like Utah was going to withdraw this one.
Instead, Denver tightened defensively, forcing four straight turnovers to open OT, two by Mitchell and the other two by Ingles and Gobert. Suddenly, the 51 points that Mitchell scored in those four quarters didn’t seem to matter anymore, and it became very obvious that the Jazz was sorely missed by Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley in this game. Mitchell’s six points in overtime aside, Jordan Clarkson was the second-highest scorer in OT with four points. Gobert didn’t attempt a single shot, despite Jokic showing no sign of being able to put up defensive resistance against the tall French man. Utah will get Conley back at some point in the playoffs – maybe even in this series – but every scenario like this, where the defense stalks Mitchell and the second-best scoring option on the field is Clarkson, it becomes obvious. that Bogdanovic’s presence is sorely missed.
It will take a more balanced effort from Utah, from players like Royce O’Neale, Georges Niang and others for the Jazz to have a chance in this game. Utah can’t put all of that on Mitchell to rack up more than 50 points a night just for the team to lose.
3. The NBA couldn’t have asked for a better first game
While it might not be golden notes like a game led by LeBron James, the Nuggets and Jazz presented an entertainment perspective. Mitchell and Murray trade punches in the fourth quarter and overtime had a real feeling of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, not Game 1 of the overall playoffs, and that’s a good thing. There are sure to be some missed games throughout the first round, especially since the Bucks and Raptors will take on the Magic and Nets respectively, but you can’t tip the postseason better than that. The quality of play in the NBA bubble has already been exceptional, and it was only the end of the regular season. If this Nuggets-Jazz game is any indication of what we want to do at the end of the playoffs, then the league can rest easy knowing that at least the product put on the floor is as good as when these guys are playing. in crowded arenas.
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